©2006 Kinash Consulting and Web Design   

Web Development Life Cycle


Phase 1 - Planning

Typical duration : 1 to 5 working days 

Planning activities are performed for two major reasons:  (1) for us to learn more about you and your organization and (2) to develop a set of requirements that must be met at the completion of your project.  Those requirements fall into two major categories - design and functionality - and are derived from your answers to questions such as:

Who is your target audience? Information seekers, potential clients, existing clients?

What message are you trying to convey to that audience?

What goals (business or otherwise) is your web intended to satisfy?

What organizational policies affect the way your web is implemented (are there contractual limitations with suppliers etc)?

How should your web look (e.g. what corporate logos, graphics, or other materials do you have available to direct the layout and color scheme)?

What information do you want included as content?

Planning information is captured in your project plan (requirements document).  The resultant checklist of requirements is tracked until your project is complete. Total time for this phase may vary based on your ability to provide the requested information.  This list of deliverables allows for the budgeting of the project. Any additions to the project after this phase may impact cost and delivery date.

 


Phase 2 - Analysis

Typical duration: 1 to 10 working days 

Your web design team reviews your project requirements and other planning data to verify the approach to development activities.   In most cases, the information and requirements for your project were collected from more than one source. Analysis activities are critical in identifying and resolving potential discrepancies such as:

Conflicting requirements
          (e.g. You requested a dark blue background and required that we use a dark blue logo. 
          The logo will never be seen!)

Ambiguous requirements
          (e.g. a "pretty flower graphic" may really mean a "long-stemmed red rose graphic")

Inconsistent requirements
          (e.g. you request an implementation that does not match your intended audience)

Resolving such issues before development decreases the overall cost of the project and increases the quality of your product.  Total time for this phase may vary based on your ability to provide timely responses to any requirements issues. 

 


Pase 3 - Design

Typical Duration: 5 to 10 working days

During this phase, website content is broken into page-sized chunks and the navigation structure is determined.  The web development team builds a prototype of the look and feel of your web for initial feedback.

It is not uncommon for customers to see the first prototype and want to make changes to the original requirements.  TheWebStudio's web development team manages such requests by reporting the probable impact on (1) other associated web requirements, (2) the overall quality of the website and (3) the existing project schedule and budget. 

 


Phase 4 - Design Implementation

Typical Duration:
5 to 10 working days for simple brochure-style webs
20 days for more complex webs with a lot of dynamic HTML effects
30 days for webs with a lot of Flash elements

This phase represents the most labor-intensive aspect of your project.  TheWebStudio's development team establishes the directory for the server where your website will reside, and prepares templates or custom layouts for a consistent look throughout your site.

The team continues by building on your design approval from the previous phase and completes a fully functional web.  The final product is a working prototype that is ready for testing.  Total time for this phase may vary based on factors such as the availability of content materials and graphics intensity. 

 


Phase 5 - Testing

Typical duration: 5 to 15 working days

During the testing phase, the web implementation is checked in various browsers to ensure the site functions on varying platforms.  The customer is invited (and encouraged) to participate in this phase along with the TheWebStudio development team.  This can be done via a secured web access process that restricts the site from the public.  This is another common milestone where customers want to make changes to the existing requirements (see Design phase).

The duration of the testing phase includes the time required to implement any necessary fixes.  Total time may vary based on the complexity of the web and associated web elements (e.g. flash technology).

 


Phase 6 - Implementation (Public Release)

Typical duration: One day

 Your final product is launched on the web and users can start accessing your information.

 


Phase 7 - Maintenance and Changes

Maintenance activities include updating content, implementing design changes, and conducting periodic web testing. 

You can opt to update your own site.

You can also forgo scheduled maintenance and simply call when necessity knocks.

If your web information changes frequently, we will be more than happy to assist with content management
on a long-term basis.

 

©2006 Kinash Consulting and Web Design
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